Summer riding gear advice

[FuzzyWuzHe]

I have found all types of sleeves online and looked at them in sporting goods stores. I can't find anything with good Sun protection that doesn't look like tattooed arms etc. I would like to find something that looks like cotton but with good sun protection in solid colors. Any Ideas or brand names?

I got a friend of mine to make me some "sleeves" from the material that wicks moisture away and dries fast.. Forget what they call it, but, Under Armor makes some great Tees out of it. The sleeves look like the old time "Dealer Sleeves". Elastic at the top and bottom. The top hits me just below my pits and just above the Bicep. The bottom hits me at the wrist.I had them made from white material to reflect the sun. What I like about them is I don't burn with them and they feel cooler than a jacket, especially if you get them a little wet. Two other things I like. When you stop to eat you can just slip them off and cool off while eating, and at night you can rinse them out with soap and water in the sink and they dry in about an hour.

On really hot days, I recently purchased an HD vest you soak for about ten minutes and it keeps your core cool for several hours. I wear the sleeves with this too. I store it in a gallon zip lock bag, when it gets hot I fill the bag with water, let it sit, pull the vest out and save the remaining water for the next soak. Doesn't take up much room and works pretty well. Since I wear it over an Under Armor quick drying tee, I don't ever get that clammy feeling.

[tnbillybob]

Plus 1 on Columbia spf shirts! I've been in Bar Harbor Maine - on the way up last Tuesday it was consistently 92 To 99 degrees. I was comfortable and no sunburn. Today was 60 degrees in parts of Mass and NY mountains. Needed chaps and leather!

[jimgpayne]

So forgive what is obviously a dumb question....

But you guys are saying a a mesh jacket can actually keep you cooler than wearing just a T-shirt?

[rhino 2]

So forgive what is obviously a dumb question....

But you guys are saying a a mesh jacket can actually keep you cooler than wearing just a T-shirt?

Absolutely........Once your moving over a few miles per hour......And if the temperature is under 65/70 degrees and your going at speed it might even feel too cold...

[lah2420]

I ended up getting a Bilt mesh jacket with a liner for $49.99. Regular was $169, but it was a closeout and the only size they had was XL, which I was looking for. Wife still hasn't decided on a color she wants. Oh well. I got to try it out yesterday. Sunny and 95 degrees. Was I cool? Not necessarily. But the sun was not beating down on my bare arms. I did not take it off to make a comparison of with jacket vs without, but will be doing so in the next couple of weeks.

I definitely felt the breeze blowing through on my arms and belly. After adusting the air wings on the handlebars, it got better still. I'm not sorry to have purchased, just need a little road time to see if it is worth it.

[GARYD]

So forgive what is obviously a dumb question....

But you guys are saying a a mesh jacket can actually keep you cooler than wearing just a T-shirt?

ONLY if the sun is out. It blocks the sunlight from hitting your skin which makes you feel cooler.

After stopping at a stoplight you WILL be very cold for a while after riding away from the stoplight.

Temperature has nothing to do with it. I've worn it in 70* temps and 117* temps = if the sun is out, I'm cooler - if the sun is not out, I'm cooler with the jacket off.

[Firewrench22]

We bought the arm sleeves that look like tattoos. Easy on and off. Kind of fun when it's too hot for a jacket. Wifey got the ones with roses and skulls, She has seen folks look at her arms and then look away trying not to make eye contact...

[jimgpayne]

So I went into my local HD dealer and picked up a mesh jacket the other day. Paid about $140 for it out the door.

The first day I used it was about 84 degrees and I really believed it made a difference.

So I jumped at the chance to use it a day or so later in 87 degree heat and experienced a completely different result.

In both cases, I could feel the breeze over my arms. But on the warmer of the two days I definitely didn't get as much core calling across my chest and stomach as I expected. So much so that I actually had to take the jacket off; and it was much cooler without the jacket.

I suspect that the batwing on the triglide simply blocks too much of the art that we want to flow over the jacket. So I am considering taking the jacket back.

For me this is a big thing since I really hate riding in the heat. If the Heat Index is 90 or above them I am pretty much out the the picture.

[67wizard]

So I went into my local HD dealer and picked up a mesh jacket the other day. Paid about $140 for it out the door.

The first day I used it was about 84 degrees and I really believed it made a difference.

So I jumped at the chance to use it a day or so later in 87 degree heat and experienced a completely different result.

In both cases, I could feel the breeze over my arms. But on the warmer of the two days I definitely didn't get as much core calling across my chest and stomach as I expected. So much so that I actually had to take the jacket off; and it was much cooler without the jacket.

I suspect that the batwing on the triglide simply blocks too much of the art that we want to flow over the jacket. So I am considering taking the jacket back.

For me this is a big thing since I really hate riding in the heat. If the Heat Index is 90 or above them I am pretty much out the the picture.

I'm with u Jim. If it's hot I don't ride much. Here in Nevada its been over 110 so the best way is in an AC car. LOL

[DK Custom Products]

We've been using Mesh jackets for years. If it is over 75-80* it is always cooler with them on than off. But we have full mesh. I have seen "mesh jackets" that have big portions of the jacket that have the wind blocked, but this or that.

When it is really warm we will get the jackets wet, the evaporation effect makes it MUCH cooler.

btw, the reason I wear an armored mesh jacket is NOT to be cooler, but to save my skin. 6-7 years ago I was hit by an F250 and ended up sliding down the asphalt for about 150 feet. It was August, 90+ degrees out, but I was wearing my mesh jacket and got zero road rash.

Kevin

[GARYD]

So I went into my local HD dealer and picked up a mesh jacket the other day. Paid about $140 for it out the door.

The first day I used it was about 84 degrees and I really believed it made a difference.

So I jumped at the chance to use it a day or so later in 87 degree heat and experienced a completely different result.

In both cases, I could feel the breeze over my arms. But on the warmer of the two days I definitely didn't get as much core calling across my chest and stomach as I expected. So much so that I actually had to take the jacket off; and it was much cooler without the jacket.

I suspect that the batwing on the triglide simply blocks too much of the art that we want to flow over the jacket. So I am considering taking the jacket back.

For me this is a big thing since I really hate riding in the heat. If the Heat Index is 90 or above them I am pretty much out the the picture.

I rode through Arizona, New Mexico on a Route 66 ride and was completely comfortable.

I don't know what the temp has to do with a mesh jacket keeping you cool - it's not the temp but the blocking of the sun that keeps you cool. If it 90* out and cloudy = no mesh jacket - you'll be cooler without the jacket and warmer with it on.

[HDB0B]

So I went into my local HD dealer and picked up a mesh jacket the other day. Paid about $140 for it out the door.

The first day I used it was about 84 degrees and I really believed it made a difference.

So I jumped at the chance to use it a day or so later in 87 degree heat and experienced a completely different result.

In both cases, I could feel the breeze over my arms. But on the warmer of the two days I definitely didn't get as much core calling across my chest and stomach as I expected. So much so that I actually had to take the jacket off; and it was much cooler without the jacket.

I suspect that the batwing on the triglide simply blocks too much of the art that we want to flow over the jacket. So I am considering taking the jacket back.

For me this is a big thing since I really hate riding in the heat. If the Heat Index is 90 or above them I am pretty much out the the picture.

Do you have your bat wing side air deflectors positioned to flow air at you?

Bob

[bagger51]

+1 on the mesh jacket. My wife and I both have a HD version. She sunburns very easy and it protects her and keeps her cool.